


One year is all it takes

by Haibaka_luvs_nyaku



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys Kissing, Chef Hunk, Cute, Eventual Keith/Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kings & Queens, Kissing, M/M, Prince Keith, Prince Keith (Voltron), Prince Lance (Voltron), Prince Lance - Freeform, Prince Shiro (Voltron), Princes & Princesses, Princess Allura - Freeform, Princess Pidge, prince lotor - Freeform, prince matt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23585977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku/pseuds/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku
Summary: Because Shiro is too much of a good person, Keith ends up being dragged into his brother's plans to stop a war between his kingdom and probably, the rest of the world. So, he gets pulled into an arranged marriage and honestly, Keith doesn't know what kind of stuff he did in his previous life to get such a punishment. Though Lance doesn't know of the reason to this sudden arranged marriage, he is just as against it and not even the Prince - the too-attractive-for-his-own-good prince can make him change his mind... right?
Relationships: Allura & Lotor (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Hunk & Shay (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Matt Holt & Shiro, Matt Holt/Shiro, Shay/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	One year is all it takes

Kingdoms were hard to deal with.

Lance knew because his sister would occasionally leave the throne to him and take a brief vacation. He knew because when his other older brother, Marco, came over with his wife, all they’d do was complain and take long-ass relaxing afternoons at the beach.

And he, like his younger siblings, couldn’t help but enjoy life as its fullest before something outrageous happened.

Right now, all Lance could think of is how much he should’ve had enjoyed life much more.

“You’re going and that’s final!” His father banged a fist on the desk. “Goddammit, Lance! Must you always rebel against my decisions?”

“That’s exactly _why_ I am rebelling! Because they’re _your_ decisions, father!” Lance exclaimed in disbelief, letting out a breathless laugh. He turned to his sister, taking in her _sorry_ look as she leaned against her husband and he could see her mutter a small _be calm_ with her blue eyes.

“Lance, all we've told you to do is simply step away from the castle for a little while, you’ve been getting-"

“No! Why do I have to go? I don’t know that land, I have no interest in knowing said land and I do not intend to expand our territory just because father believes it will end the war between Altea and Marmora!” Lance could feel all eyes on him, his smaller siblings included, and he prayed that they weren’t be scared of him later on. His face was red from all the anger and frustration and just as his father was about to protest and say something back, Lance finished his speech, “e _specially_ , if it means I have to move houses or marry someone I have never known in my 18 years of life,” and that was the last thing Lance had said, letting silence set in the room as he left.

Lance kept the tears in his eyes until he reached his bedroom as he walked through the big halls, ignoring the curious looks thrown at him by the servants.

“Call Chef Hunk and Princess Katie to my room immediately,” Lance said and he walked into his room after the guard gave him a firm nod, and walked off, towards the two the prince mentioned.

\--

“You called me, Mum?” Keith walked in the throne room. “What did you need?”

“You’re going to be upset,” is the first thing his mother says, turning to face him with a blank expression.

Keith had to hold in a groan, and he gritted his teeth, “what do you need, Mother?”

“Takashi will marry the princess from the Balmera in order to increase the amount of support we get if we happen to go to war.” Krolia began, waiting a few seconds to let Keith process the information before continuing, “and I believe it would be a good idea to expand our friendship circle," Keith could already tell what she was going to say, “and add Altea to it.”

“No.” Keith’s answer was immediate, and he crossed his arms over his training attire.

“Keith-"

“I am not marrying anyone for the sake of our ‘friendship circle’, Mother,” Keith growled, glaring at his mother.

“Keith, this is not a request, honey,” Krolia sighed, “it needs to happen.”

“They’re allied with the Galra, mum.”

“We're Galra-"

“The Bad Galra!" Keith spoke over her. “Their future king will be the son of Zarkon!” Keith pleaded as he walked closer to Krolia. “How can you allow our Empire to form bonds with such Kingdom?”

“Keith, the Prince of Altea will be here in two weeks and I will not have you disrespect him in any way.” Krolia states and her tone of voice leaves no space for argument, “maybe not marriage but they will be staying here for a little while.”

Keith stays silent, merely staring at his mother. “Shiro agreed to his own marriage?”

Krolia hesitated but answered, “he was the one to suggest it.”

To say that Keith was surprised was an understatement, but to think that Shiro was the one to suggest something he’d never want, was beyond Keith's mind.

“What?”

“Keith...” Krolia sighed.

“My brother was the one to suggest the wedding?” Keith asked, voice shaky. " _His_ wedding?"

“Yes,” his mother said. She took a few steps towards her son and hesitantly wrapped her arms over his shoulders. “I think he’s crazy too, talk to him, will you?” Krolia kissed the top of his head, “I don’t know what his father has been telling him but talk to him, please.”

Keith sighed into her embrace and gave her one single squeeze, wrapping his arms around her torso before pulling away completely, feeling slightly awkward. "I will," Keith then turned to leave and when he reached the door, he stopped, holding onto the doorknob. He took a small breath and turned back around. "And I… I won't marry anyone, but I guess they can stay," and with that, he left.

Krolia stared at the door after her son had left and she smiled, shaking her head to herself.

\--

Upon Lance’s appearance, both Red and Blue, the two dogs Lance had learned to love despite their size, jumped up in excitement and barked. Unfortunately, dogs weren’t stupid, and no matter how much Lance wanted to use their excitement of seeing their owner mask his unhappiness, they could immediately see the tears their owner was only now letting free and the two were quick to lick his hands and stand by his side in a comforting manner.

Lance sniffed and pet his dogs, cleaning the tears in his face with the sleeve of his royal shirt when a knock on the door made him jump slightly. “Come in,” he said through gritted teeth. Instead of seeing his two friends as he expected, he came face to face with his older sister. “What is it that you need, ‘Lura?” The brunette was quick to ask and avoid her eyes.

“Look at me,” her voice was stern and even without looking, Lance could tell that the expression she wore was now apologizing to him in their father's place. He saw her feet right in front of him with his head hung low and she moved to sit beside him, wrapping an arm around his slumped shoulders. “Look at me, baby brother.”

“Stop.”

“C'mon, Lance,” Allura sighed beside him, pulling him tighter against her side. “Lotor and I are doing everything we can to hold you back and change father's mind but-"

“It's not going to happen,” Lance finished for her. “I appreciate it, ‘Lura, and thank your husband too, I owe him one.” Lance chuckled sadly. "But we both know father's mind won’t change that easily.”

Allura opened her mouth to protest but as no words came out, she only sighed and glanced down, leaving silence to settle between them. Another knock on his door brought Lance to his feet and this time, it was Hunk and Pidge, as he had expected.

“We've already heard, Prince,” Pidge spoke softly for once when Lance let them in, closing the door with a soft _click_.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Buddy.” Hunk pulled him into a big hug.

Lance smiled softly against his best friends embrace and he couldn’t help the tears that were threatening to fall once again. He held the back of Hunk's shirt like as if it was going to keep him safe and still and Hunk could do nothing but rub circles on his back.

“How long do they plan to send you off for?” Pidge asked, sitting beside Allura.

Lance meets Allura's eyes and she once again sighs again, “until he turns 21.”

\--

Keith took a deep breath once he was out the room and he pressed the palm of his hands against his closed eyes tightly, to prevent the tears from falling but mainly to keep his thoughts in line.

_He needs to talk to Shiro, and he needs to ask the guard when they'll be arriving, maybe speak to Lauren since she's probably going to be the one to welcome them if Keith is not available but–_

"Keith?"

The boy immediately snapped his head towards the source of the voice and blinked just a few times before actually acknowledging his brother standing in front of him. "Shiro," he said back with a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked after a moment of hesitation, looking at his brother's face properly. "What did-"

"You're getting married?" Is all that Keith asks, squinting his eyes at him and he waits for any signs of lies Shiro could give away.

Shiro freezes, staring at him wordlessly and he sighs, rubbing a hand through his face before starting, "yeah, to the Princess of Balmera, Shay." Shiro nods, almost as if he was trying to reassure himself instead.

Keith gives him a look, walking towards him. "Why?"

Shiro doesn't reply and Keith gives him a hard look, waiting for the answer. Shiro couldn't bring himself to look away from Keith so he stared back at him until he sighed and closed his eyes for a few moments. "Father was talking about attacking the Balmera for medical resources and I overheard." Shiro rubbed the side of his face.

Keith took a few seconds to focus on what he had just said before his face turned red in anger and he felt his face form a scowl. "What?"

"Look, Keith-"

"What is he thinking, he can't just attack whatever k-"

"Shut up!" Shiro hissed at him, clamping a hand over Keith's mouth in an alarming move. His eyes were wide in fear and he looked around, sighing in relief when no one was in his field of vision. "Be quiet and we're getting out of here, so please, just don't say a word."

\--

The silence in the room tenses even more than before.

“That's three years,” Hunk whispers under his breath with wide eyes.

Lance scoffed at the reactions and pulled away from Hunk's arms. “That’s not all though,” he let out a laugh, “they want me to _marry_ someone because they think it will make an alliance with Marmora.”

“Wouldn’t King Alfor simply have to talk to the Blade of Marmora for an alliance?” Pidge asked and he crossed his arms over his white apron, leaning against the door as he stared at the siblings.

“My father believes the Blade of Marmora should've been an ally from the beginning,” Allura explains. “Like as if it were a non-spoken rule.”

“And they’re not because...” Hunk trails off.

“The Blade isn’t our ally because we’ve joined the Galra Empire with Altea and they were, initially, against the Galra so-"

“Now that Allura is married to Lotor, they think that they should be against you too,” Pidge finished for Lance, nodding as she finally understood their train of thoughts.

Lance nodded as did Allura and Hunk hummed. “Does that mean they’re against the Holts too?” Hunk spoke after a while. “I mean, the Holts and Altea have been buddies ever since, like, forever.”

“You think they’d be against my dad?”

“It is a possibility but just because they’re not very fond of us, doesn't mean they’d rebel against your father, Pidge,” Allura said, crossing a leg over the other. “I am sure they’re not very familiar with the Holts, to begin with.”

Lance felt his head aching and the pound only got harder with each word being passed through in the room. He knew how stubborn his father was and since it included the kingdom itself, Lance had no choice but to follow his father’s instructions, regardless of what he liked.

“So,” Pidge began once again, “if you were to go to the Blade of Marmora, which you probably will,” she pointedly looked at Lance. “You’ll have to marry… marry who?”

“The Prince,” Allura answered.

“Right,” Pidge nodded, “to marry the Prince of Marmora, in order to get the Blade of Marmora to trust us and all this because-"

“We don’t have an alliance with Marmora.” Hunk interrupted her as he finally put two and two together. “Dude, are you going?”

“No!” Lance immediately replied. “Yes?” He said after, sighing, “he’s making me go.”

“Lance...” Allura whispered. “I’m sorry.”

"You're going," Pidge muttered in disbelief.

Lance let out a shaky breath and slowly shook his head _yes._ "He's making me go." He repeated.

\--

Shiro pulled Keith into his bedroom, quietly closing the door to avoid any attention that could be brought to them.

"Keith, you have to understand, there was nothing I could do-"

"Surely there was something the _princess_ could've had done! You can't marry her, Shiro," Keith exclaimed. "You had plans for the future! You had _plans_ to go and travel the world, to meet someone and to _love_ someone." Keith emphasized certain words, and he could visibly see Shiro wince before he continued with a softer tone, "what about the princess' opinion?"

"We met three days ago. I had to tell her about what father was about to do, and she was the only one to talk to," he said, sighing as Keith gave him a hard look, obviously abstaining himself from commenting, "and there was little and close to nothing that Shay could do, so, she suggested an alliance between the two kingdoms without the King's knowledge on it. That's when she bought up marriage. I couldn't say no, Keith." Shiro had a sorry look on his face.

Keith remained silent as he processed the information and thought of something to say. "Did you tell her about your plans?" He tried. "Did you let her know?"

"No," Shiro replied instantly. "I couldn't. She's too nice, she'd completely forget about engagement and think that war is the only solution, or even worse."

"Well, couldn’t she just marry someone else with greater power than ours and fight? Father would back down when he'd realize we couldn't win and–"

"Keith, do you hear yourself when you speak?" Shiro interrupted him, an angered tone slipping past his lips. His eyes stared at Keith with a hard expression and he spoke again, "you just suggested I _let_ our kingdom go to war because of some things I had planned, letting some innocent kingdom suffer the consequences of our reckless father's decisions when I can _help them._ " Shiro's tone of voice increases with each word but he whispered the last two, sounding desperate to get his point across.

Keith stepped back a little, wincing as Shiro got closer with every word too. "Shiro..."

"Just–" Shiro took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself. "Think it through. Mother can't know and we're the only ones who know except for father and his secretary," and Shiro gave him one last glance before leaving the room.

\--

And that is how Lance found himself standing in front of the Great Pioneer, the ferry, to travel all the way to Marmora a week after. Only that he wasn't alone. Lotor, as weird and surprising as it is, did manage to convince his father to change his mind. Unfortunately, he wasn't convincing enough to call the whole trip off but Lotor, somehow, tricked the king's mind into calling off the wedding and reduce the time Lance would have to stay there to a single year, instead of the four painful ones Lance had dreaded.

_"What do you mean, he called off the wedding?" Lance stood star-struck in the middle of his room, just three days after the announcement, when Lotor burst in his room. "What did you do?"_

_"I, my dear brother-in-law, convinced my dearest father-in-law to bring you back early from this trip you're taking_ and _call off the wedding you were going to have." The white-haired prince spoke proudly, panting slightly from running to his room, "I had a very long and pleasant talk with your father and after a while, we had both reached equal terms."_

_Lotor smiled, confidence radiating off his chest when Lance threw his arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. Lotor was speechless, then, holding his arms up, unsure of what to do and it took him a while before he realized he had to actually hug him back. He slowly settled his arms over Lance's shoulders and patted his back softly._

_"Thank you," Lance whispered._

With a little more convincing and persistent words from his sister, his father, just yesterday announced that he'd let Lance take three people of his choice, only said three people were supposed to be his guards to _protect_ him and _keep him in track_ and Lance had chosen his three best friends; Princess Pidge, Chef Hunk and Prince Matt. Given that Hunk was a pretty big guy and also had a brown belt in karate, his father wasn't to discontent about his choice. He was going to argue but as soon as Pidge contacted her parents and got their permission to _do whatever they desired as long as Hunk tagged along_ – the Holts were pretty fund on Hunk if you haven't noticed. However, Pidge and Matt couldn’t stay for the whole year. They were to return home every two months for a few weeks to complete their work.

"So," Hunk started, sighing, "a year, huh?"

"Yeah..." Lance felt guilty, all of a sudden. He took a deep breath and turned to face his friends, ignoring the three bodyguards standing behind the group of four. "Look, guys-"

"Do you hear anything, Pidge?" Matt squints his eyes, glancing at his sister, smirking the HoltTM smirk.

"Not a thing. Hunk?" Pidge replied casually, shrugging with one shoulder as she gave Lance the same HoltTM smirk.

"Do I suddenly hear the prince apologizing for no reason?" Hunk gave his best friend a deadpan look and shrugged, turning to Pidge and her brother with a grin. "Nope, not a single sound."

Lance pouted at his friends, feeling a tint of warmth on his cheeks, "just listen to me-"

"Lance, we are not going to listen to you if you're going to apologize for something we also decided on." Matt interrupted him again, sighing as he placed a hand over Lance's shoulder. "We didn't come because you ordered us to, which you didn't, by the way, we came because we chose to. You gave us a choice, Lance."

"I know, I just don't want you to feel obliged to tag along, especially if it means being a year away from here," Lance sighs, feeling a small weight being lifted off his chest when the words came out and instead of seeing a sad and disappointed expression on either of their faces, his friends merely smiled and comforted him, "from... home."

"We're here for you, you don’t need to worry about this any more than you already do," Hunk replies with a grin, giving a big thumbs-up just in time for the ferry to announce its arrival with a loud noise.

The group turned to their next method of transportation and Lance couldn't help but sigh. He knew his situation had gotten better. Much better and all thanks to his own sister and, surprisingly, her husband. He knew they'd rather be here than be in the castle, working their asses off to cover what Lance would've had to do in the year he would be away. If he went for three years, his father said he, himself would take over Lance's duties, if he had gone for the time requested but given that his previous plans were changed, both Allura and Lotor were in charge of said work.

Lance could never put it to words, but he was more than grateful for what they had done for him without mentioning how his friends had reacted and accepted Lance's request to tag along with him.

"Prince Lance, shall I take your bag in-"

"That's okay, you can tell my father we were properly delivered," Lance quickly refused, covering his scowl with his fake smile. "I am perfectly safe with my frien- I mean, with Princess Katie, Prince Matt and Chef Hunk."

"I am sorry, Sir, but I am not allowed to do such thing, King Alfor has ordered for your safety to be the top priority," the guard said in a monotone voice, his arms linked behind his back as he stared at Prince Lance.

Lance winced slightly, the pressure on his chest that was subsiding had returned and he found himself breathing harder in anger until a soft hand patted his shoulder. "It'll be fine, we can handle some guards, buddy," Hunk said quietly, ignoring the pointed stared the guard sent him. "We can do this."

And with that, they went on board.

The ride there was quiet, neither of the four could say anything as they all had thoughts and ideas running through minds and unfortunately, no one could speak their minds and feel secure about what they would say. Not with the three guards burning holes at the back of Lance's head.

It was at least a one-week trip to the Marmora and Lance couldn’t stop fidgeting, given that they were merely 22 minutes into the trip. He couldn't help it and it seemed that neither could either of his friends. Matt was anxiously fiddling with his Pad, flicking at nothing to wipe the screen clean; Pidge was turned to the sea, watching the waves but Lance could see her fingers tapping a consistent and fast beat on her hip on top of the large dress she was ordered – forced, to be honest, to wear. Hunk seemed like he was in control of his emotions but if anyone looked close enough, they could see the lines on his forehead weren't at all natural and his lips were moving fast, mumbling nearly inaudible things to himself. So, Lance couldn't keep still.

That was how Keith found himself standing in front of the port a week later, waiting for the ferry to arrive with his brother by his side. As both siblings waited for their guests, Keith with his hands crossed over his chest and Shiro with a small smile.

"They'll be lovely, Keith, just be patient," Shiro said quietly, glancing at the people who stared at them and Shiro's hard look seemed to do the trick because once he looked at them, said people would jump slightly in fear and walk away quickly.

"I am patient," Keith growled back, tapping his foot on the floor. "If anything, I wish they'd just-" Keith was interrupted when a loud buzz was heard, cutting his speech off as the announcement of the ferry's arrival was loud and clear. "Oh,” he mumbled, “spoke too soon."

"You didn't even finish that sentence," Shiro smirked back, nudging him with his elbow as the ferry got closer and closer.

The silence overtook the two siblings as they just watched people slowly come out of the transport, either waving at their familiar ones with bags at hand or simply walking away with their loved ones, laughing. There always seemed to be a smile on their faces.

"Must be them, right?" Shiro spoke again, nodding his head in the direction of the small group.

Keith watched as the tanned boy laughed at something the bigger man said, clutching at his handbag tightly. Keith also noticed the siblings – twins, perhaps, the smaller girl wearing a purple knee-length dress whilst the taller boy showed her, what it seemed to be like a Pad, and talking non-stop. Of course, the three guards behind them weren't going by unnoticed, carrying a load of bags, following the group.

When the tanned boy finally looked up at the words the other guy had said, Keith found himself staring at blue eyes just as they stared back at him. Keith was inert, watching at the other merely lifted his head higher and his eyes closed into a glare.

"Yeah, that’s them for sure," Keith spoke through a breath.

Shiro chuckled and the group finally reached the two.

"Greetings, who might your Highness Prince Lance be?" Shiro was the first to speak, practiced royal manners slipping past his tongue as he bowed slightly, keeping his stare on the smaller boy with honey-coloured eyes. Matt couldn't help but giggle slightly at the amused look that was being thrown at him by the unknown prince.

"That'd be me," Lance replied with a clear voice, offering Shiro a nod before he introduced his friends. "Beside me are my allies and friends from the Holts, Princess Katie and Prince Matthew, along with my best friend and world's best Chef, Hunk Garret." He pointed at each and every one of them as they all bowed their heads when mentioned. "My father, King Alfor, had insisted that these three guards tagged along to this trip, I hope it isn't of any inconvenience to you?"

"Of course, we understand. My name is Takashi Shirogane-Kogane, but Shiro will do," Shiro immediately reassured as he introduced himself before turning to Keith, "and my brother, Prince Keith."

Keith didn't speak, he merely gave them a short bow, keeping his straight face which earned him a curious glance from Lance. Hunk was too terrified to say a word, so, he just went along with anything that was being said meanwhile, Pidge only showed mild interest when the introductions were made, especially scowling when Lance had introduced her as 'Katie' instead of Pidge.

"Very well."

"We have a carriage to bring you back to the palace, so you'll be allowed to sort your luggage and suitcases." Shiro continued, straightening up. “Keith and I can tell you anything you'd want to know during the ride.” 

And with that, Shiro and Keith guided the visitors to the three big carriages that were parked just a few meters away.

“I’d like you to load these suitcases into your carriages and take us back to the palace, please,” Shiro said to the men once they were within earshot. The men nodded their heads, and whilst two of them loaded said bags with the Altean guards, the remaining man was left to open the carriages to the royalty and sweet Hunk. The group split into two groups, whilst Keith, Lance and Hunk took one of the carriages, Shiro, Matt and Pidge stayed together, leaving the guards to take the last carriage.

"Sir, we cannot let you-"

"I am ordering you to let me travel with whomever I want, especially if Prince Keith is onboard, I believe I wouldn't need any assistance from the three of you." Lance was quick to cut the Guard #1's words with a sharp glare. He turned his back with a spin on his heel and raised his head higher when facing Keith. "Shall we go, Prince Keith?"

Keith couldn’t help the blush that crept up his neck at the mention of his name, but he simply cleared his throat, lifting his collar to hide it as he nodded a _yes_ , letting the tanned prince enter before he did. Hunk was at loss of words– and he would be for the next few moments, but regardless, entered just after Keith had, settling beside him with a _huff,_ chuckling nervously when Keith turned to him, offering him a small smile to try and ease his nerves. The three felt the carriage started moving and Keith mentally let out a sigh of relief, praying to himself that the silence would be kept the same throughout the whole ride.

Lance suddenly spoke, turning his head to look at Keith who seemed startled at the question, after what it seemed to be, at least, 30 minutes of a ride.

"Prince Keith?"

He quickly recomposed himself and nodded, "yes?"

"How old are you, Your Highness?" Lance let a small smirk settle on his face, supporting his head with his hand and placing his elbow onto the window sill.

Keith glared at him, "21, Prince Lance," Keith replied and his own smirk started forming on his lips as he thought of an answer. "Why the sudden interest?"

Lance denied that the beat that his heart skipped wasn't because of that damn smile, and he tried to speak with the same amount of confidence as before, "I guess I would love to get to know the person whom I'd have to marry."

"The engagement was called off." Keith's answer was instantaneous.

"Indeed," Lance laughed. "Although, I still have a small interest for my ex-fiancé," he leaned towards Keith a little more, a flirtatious look taking over his features. "Who knows, maybe I'd want to marry you for real."

And at that comment, Hunk couldn’t hold in the snort he so hardly tried to contain. Lance pouted at the sound and got mentally ready to suffer some teasing from his own best friend, causing Keith to wonder just _what kind of relationship do these two have?_ Keith must've had given Hunk a strange look because soon enough, Hunk was burning red and spouting words to explain himself. " I-I didn't mean to, I just– we–"

"Hunk," Lance intervened. "It's okay, buddy, no worries." A warm smile was sent his way and in a matter of seconds, Hunk was melting with comfort, returning the smile with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I've known Prince Lance for quite a long period of time and some of the things he says just–" Hunk paused, glancing at Lance for any signs of anger, continuing when there were none. " _Don’t make any sense._ " Another breathy laugh from Hunk.

"That's not true!"

"Lance, you literally threw a fit when you found out you were engaged," Hunk calmed stated.

Keith smiled at the information, taking his eyes from Hunk to look at Lance with a smug look. "How do you explain that?"

"Look, there's nothing to explain-"

"Your Excellency Prince Keith, we've arrived at the castle." The voice of the driver brings the three out of their conversation, bringing tension and hesitation to all three of them as they all straightened up.

"Thank you," Keith said and when the door opened wide, Hunk jumped out with a happy smile, taking a deep breath as Keith, followed by Lance, left the carriage. Keith could see Shiro help Pidge out of the carriage, with a laugh. When he raised his hand out for Matt’s support, Keith saw the pink on his cheeks when Matt, quietly, said a few things that caused the older man to glance away from him. Keith found himself smirking as he met his brother's eyes and Shiro could only send him a glare, a silent warning to which Keith replied with a casual shrug, turning his back with a small laugh.

"This is pretty huge." Keith heard a comment on his right side, looking to see Pidge with an approving look on his face. "We're living here, then?"

Lance winced a bit at the sentence and look at Keith, who gave him a comforting nod. "I guess."

"Well, let's head inside," Shiro said after a few moments of silence. "I am sure the guards will be just fine with the bags whilst we take you to your rooms." Shiro gave the men a pointed look and the men simply bowed in return, turning to the Altean guards before giving them details on the rooms and such as the rest of the group went ahead, Shiro on the lead.

As they entered the palace, the four visitors couldn’t control their curious eyes as they drifted towards every inch of the walls, taking in every painting and detail. Lance noticed the paintings in which Keith was in and in every single one of them, Lance couldn't detect any hints of a single smile. The first one he saw was with a woman, older than both Shiro and Keith– probably their mother and to Lance's surprise, they looked the _same._ Maybe, they could even pass by for siblings if a single glance was taken.

"Do you ever smile?" Lance spoke before he could stop himself, taking in the second painting. This one seemed to be a more serious one, with Keith standing by Shiro's side as an older man stood behind them both, wearing what it seemed to be a scowl on his face. Keith held the same look as the older man and Shiro, despite it being a little forced, could be seen smiling slightly.

"Excuse me?" Keith questioned in confusion, squinting at Lance with an annoyed look. Shiro gave Keith a side glance and let out a sigh.

"You heard me," Lance chuckled, nodding his head towards all the picture to prove his point. "Why don't you smile?"

Keith glanced at the painting Lance looked at and he visibly tenses, remembering the same day that picture was taken. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and tried not to shake his head even though he wanted to be clear of the memories of said day before he turned to Lance, a fake smile settling on his lips. "Better?"

Lance was merely watching the other as he gave him something to satisfy Lance and the brunette scoffed. "Okay, now a real one?"

Keith glared at Lance and just as he was about to reply with a sarcastic comment, the quarrel was broken by Princess Pidge who snorted, soon enough breaking into small laughter.

"Pidge!" Hunk groaned, rubbing his face as he looked at the smaller girl with a tired look. "Please."

"Pidge?" Shiro mumbled in confusion. "Who's Pidge?"

"I am," the princess raised her hand with a smirk, "and I'm sorry, I just thought of how great this year will be."

Matt chuckled at his sister's comment and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. To be honest, so was Matt and Hunk was curious as to find out how the two princes would do in each other's company. Just with their little interaction, Hunk could already tell that he was, as bad as it sounds, very much entertained given that his dramatic and over-the-top best friend found someone who could, probably, _hopefully_ , tolerate his behaviour.

"Uh," Shiro cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck with a side glance. "Rooms?"

\--

Lance was in his new room, quietly unpacking the things he had for now. He tried to be done with it as fast as he could, to be able to unpack everything else that'd come in a day or two, neatly setting his clothes onto one side of the drawer.

He's been unpacking for the whole afternoon now and he's sure that if he looked outside, he would be able to see the moon shining bright and to say that he was tired was an understatement. He was exhausted.

He would occasionally take a five-minute break and jump in his best friend’s room to eat a few of the cookies he had originally baked for the king and queen until Hunk kicked him out for good, claiming that there had to be at least a reasonable number of cookies for the royal family, much to Lance's discontent.

He also visited Pidge once or twice, only to bother and mess around with the girl's things. Of course, Pidge didn't mind his company, but she also did kick him out once she had decided that she was sick of his _annoying complaining_.

Suddenly, after what it seemed like hours, a soft knock disrupted the quiet hum by the boy folding his shirts on top of his bed, leaning against the headboard. "Come in," he shouted, stopping mid-action.

To summarise, Lance had a pretty calm and peaceful day, despite arriving and having that little tiring but nice tour of the castle so, when Prince Keith– toned Prince Keith, walked into his room, Lance completely froze. Sadly, and embarrassing enough, Lance caught himself staring, bluntly ogling the attractive man before said man cleared his throat and Lance was forced to meet his smirking expression. "How are you feeling, Prince Lance?"

Lance could obviously tell the double meaning underneath the man's words, but he couldn't help himself but stare for a little while longer and let his eyes travel through the revealing skin on his arms, barely being able to speak loud enough for the other to hear him properly. "Great, how is your highness, Keith?"

The fact that Keith was not wearing his usual Prince attire but a tight black tank top with matching leggings, hugging his legs beautifully and a pair of loose shorts over it, made Lance blush, taking in the image.

"Tired, actually," Keith replied with a shrug, an amused smile still on his face. "Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, should I come knock again then?"

"Uh-huh," Lance merely nodded, eyes settling on Keith's purple ones. He felt his face heat up under Keith's stare and he cleared his throat, glancing around briefly to avoid his look, "no, no, that’s, uhm, it’s fine, thank you."

"If you say so," suddenly, Keith turned around and spoke, looking over his shoulder. Unfortunately, Lance had little to no control over his eyes at this point so, it was to no surprise when they found Keith's _perfect_ butt. "I'll just," Keith paused, popping his hip to the side and he waved at Lance, "take a shower, then."

Lance blushed furiously, nodding eagerly as he waved back. He could make out a chuckle that left Keith's lips as he entered another room across his– probably Keith's room and closed the door shut, leaving Lance to his thoughts and an annoying blush.

After a few moments of realization, he darted from his bed and ~~walked~~ jogged towards his best friend's room (who, hopefully, hadn't gotten lost). He bowed shortly at the passing servants who were quickly bowing when noticing the visitor prince and he stopped to take a breath in front of Hunk's door before knocking. He didn’t wait for an answer– he should’ve, really, and just walked in, ready to spill everything to his best friend.

"Hunk, holy crap, buddy, Prince Keith is so hot and his legs–" Lance immediately stopped his rant when his eyes fell on another person other than Hunk. He blinked at the tall woman inside the other's room and only then did he notice Shiro standing in there too. Everyone inside the room stared at Lance and soon enough, Lance was blushing again, nervously laughing as he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding Shiro's eyes. "Hi."

Hunk held back the urge to facepalm and roll his eyes and he glanced at the two royal visitors inside his room. Shiro, surprisingly enough, had a knowing look plastered on his face and he crossed his arms over his chest to look at Lance directly. "Please, do go on, Prince Lance."

Lance flinched slightly. "I-it's just Lance and, uh," he chuckled nervously, "I apologize, for speaking about your brother in such way, Prince Shiro."

"Looks like your mother was right, Takashi," the woman spoke for the first time, her back straight as she spoke, and her hands linked in front of her before she bowed her head with a kind smile. "Princess Shay from Balmera."

Lance's lips formed a perfect _o_ and he quickly bowed, a smile on his face too. "Prince Lance from Altea."

"I have heard, yes," Shay glanced at Hunk briefly and the bigger man blushed slightly. "I have come to merely introduce myself, kind men, I must return to my kingdom after dinner, so I have got a couple of my belongings yet to pack."

"You're leaving today?"

Lance's eyes widened slightly when Hunk spoke so suddenly, and he couldn't help but frown at his friend's expression. Shay smiled sadly at him and nodded. "I must. I merely came to introduce myself to my brother-in-law's fiancé," she said, looking at Lance. " _Ex_ -fiancé, I guess."

Lance let those words sink in and he gasped, grabbing everyone's attention once again. "You're engaged to Shiro?" Lance exclaimed, pointing at the older Prince.

Lance didn't miss the hurt expression that flashed through Hunk's and both Shay and Shiro hesitated slightly before nodding, glancing briefly at each other.

"Indeed," Shay affirmed, linking her arm to Shiro's loosely.

"I'll accompany you to your room, Shay," Shiro spoke, breaking the slight tension in the room. He gave the two other men a nod before Shay nodded at him two, signalling towards the door and they both left, closing the door shut between softly.

Lance stared after them for a few moments until Hunk let out a relieved breath. He turned to his best friend, eyes wide and he grinned. "Princess Shay, huh?"

"God, stop," Hunk blushed, glaring playfully at the prince before laying back on his bed. "She's engaged to Shiro."

"I don’t even know why, Shiro's clearly gay." Lance shrugged, sitting by the feet of Hunk's bed.

Hunk sat up straight, glaring at him. "What do you mean, did he tell you that himself?"

Lance laughed out loud, crossing his arms over his chest with a knowing look. "Obviously not, but he most likely has a thing for Matt, couldn’t you see it?"

Lance wasn't that smart, he would consider himself to be like any average person but when it came to people, Lance seemed to have a special skill. It first happened when Lance met Hunk and the prince was quick to reveal Hunk's unspoken secret of the other’s sexuality. His analysis was proven correct when Hunk showed to the prince's room only to announce that he was, in fact, dating a boy after he had confessed his _undying love_ for the chef. Lance had met the boy a day later and, although he had kept his suspicions about said boy to himself, he was once again proven correct when the boy disappeared the following day, with what it seemed to be like a bag full of Altean spices. Hunk barged into the prince's room with tears in his eyes and begging for an apology until Lance pulled the truth out of him and ordered the guards to find the boy.

"Are you serious?"

"Have I ever been wrong about these kinds of things?" Lance scoffed, laying back where Hunk was previously. Hunk flinched slightly at all the memories and right assumptions made by Lance and he felt his shoulders slump in disappointment.

"Right," Hunk mumbled. He furrowed his eyebrows, gears turning inside his head and he finally voiced his thoughts. "Then why is he with Princess Shay?"

Lance shrugged once again, and he groaned. "Look, I don’t know but I'm in the middle of a crisis!"

"What crisis?" Hunk couldn’t help but roll his eyes, standing up from his seat.

Lance's eyes followed his friend as he spoke, "Prince Keith is too hot for his own good."

"Lance," Hunk groaned again, his head falling backwards with a sigh. "I thought we were over this."

"But he's just too good!" Lance said again, "he walked into my room in a tank top, Hunk." Lance said like as if it were obvious. "A tank top!"

"So?"

"I could see his arms!"

Hunk paused, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. He turned again and decided to change into a more suitable outfit.

"Ugh! You, demi dudes, don’t get it." Lance pouted, and he sat up, his body being supported by his elbows. He noticed Hunk's mumbling, and only then did he notice that Hunk wasn’t actually listening to anything the other was saying which just made him smirk. "Why are you changing?" Hunk flushed bright red and he struggled to find words when Lance cut him off again.

"Uh... we're having dinner with royalty, so..." He trailed off, holding an orange shirt in his arm, scratching the back of his neck with the other hand.

"The yellow one with the brown vest and the pants you always wear would do just fine to impress Princess Shay," Lance said with a smile. "When did that even happen?"

"What happened– I mean, something happened?" Hunk stumbled over his words as he spoke, taking his friend's advice.

Lance chuckled at him. Hunk was demisexual, so, he only really developed a crush on someone once they formed a deeper bond or known each other for a longer period of time and when Lance saw the smitten look on his best friend's face at the sight of the Princess, he knew _immediately_ what he had to do to help his friend out.

"When did you develop a crush on the Princess, I thought-"

Suddenly, a loud knock interrupted his words and both Hunk and Lance traded familiar looks upon hearing the familiar tone. "Oh my, god, Hunk, open up, buddy!"

Lance could recognize the voice as Matt's pleading tone, and he chuckled. "Are you opening-"

"Arck- Pidge, for Go- stop!" Matt yelped.

The door burst open and Lance had to scoot back to avoid Matt's falling body. Pidge ended up stranding Matt's waist, throwing fists at his face with an angry look on her face.

"Pidge, stop-" Hunk wheezed, eyes widening in shock. "Get off."

The girl gave her brother one last glare before, she did, in fact, follow the others instruction, “stop taking my Pad, you fucking weirdo.”

“Again?” Hunk groaned at the two, throwing the yellow shirt onto his bed, “you have to stop doing that, man, and it’s always my room that ends up being invaded.”

And Lance is sitting on the bed, a fond smile on his face and maybe, just maybe, not everything is as bad as it seems.

\--

Meanwhile, the royal family sat at the dining room, a quiet aura surrounding the three as Shiro quietly sipped on his water and Keith fiddled with the cutlery, avoiding his mother’s eyes when suddenly, the dining door opens slowly, a curious head peeking through. Keith’s head immediately snapped up and he sees Lance release a small sigh, a smile– perhaps fake, settling on his lips and the tanned Prince stalks in, head held high as he sat down gracefully next to Keith, “good evening.”

Krolia sent him a wide smile, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Prince Lance.”

Upon hearing the Queen introducing herself, Lance stood up abruptly, bowing as he did so.

“My apologizes, Your Majesty,” he straightened up, offering a kind smile, “it is quite my pleasure. You have a beautiful home.”

The Queen gestured for him to sit back down with her hand, elbow resting on the table with her back straight but a mysterious mask over her features and for once, Lance couldn’t tell what was going through someone’s head. Krolia looks at him from the head of the table and smiled sweetly, “thank you, I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay.”

“For sure, everything is marvellous, and everyone has been of great help,” was all Lance could muster without stuttering and, right on cue, the door to the dining room re-opened and in, stepped the other three visitors.

Matt walked in front of the other two, a soft smile plastered on his lips whilst Pidge let out a sigh, ending her conversation with Hunk as she, too, did the same. Hunk always had a content look on his face, so, really, the man just walked beside the two, radiating positive energy. Once they had reached the table, Krolia gave them a nod with a smile and they returned the gesture, Pidge doing a small curtsy whilst the men gave her a bow.

“Please, there’s no need for that,” Krolia chuckled, “at ease,” she added playfully. She waited until everyone was sat and comfortably. She smiled at whoever met her eyes until the servants bought the trolley with the food and served each of them. “Hunk, is it?”

At the mention of his name, the latter jumped in surprised in his seat, nearly knocking the plate of the staff’s hands and he rubbed the back of his neck with a shy smile, muttering a _sorry_ before turning to Krolia. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I heard you’re a Chef from Altea.”

He immediately relaxed a little and glanced at Lance who could clearly see the man’s excitement. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

Shiro smiled and glanced at his mother before speaking, “maybe he could use the kitchen we have on our floor.

Lance almost giggled at the way his friend visibly brightened up and Krolia nodded at the suggestion.

“Of course, use whatever you need. Perhaps, we could talk to Chef Thace and arrange something.”

“Oh,” Hunk immediately intervened, shaking his head, “I don’t mean to trouble anyone, so, really, it’s fine.”

Krolia merely smiled at him and there was silence again until the food was all served and Krolia called out to one of the servants. “Call Chef Thace for me, please.”

“Right away, Your Majesty.”

Lance noticed the tenseness on Hunk’s body beside him and he patted his thigh in a comforting manner before placing both his hands on the table, waiting for the Queen to take the first bite. The room was filled with an awkward atmosphere that the four new visitors couldn’t avoid and Lance could tell that the two siblings were having some sort of fight under the table by the way their arms kept subtly moving and how Matt glared at his smug sister.

“There’s no need to wait,” Krolia spoke again, gaining everyone’s attention. She motioned to their food, “eat up, don’t wait for me.”

With a glance around, Lance saw how Keith had already started eating, gaze focused on the food on his plate whilst Shiro smiled at them, taking a small bite of his food. He turned to his best friend but found that he, too, had already started and sighed quietly, shrugging at the Holt siblings before they did the same and tried their bests to get through this dinner.


End file.
